Effects of Tobacco on Health

None of us is ignorant towards the ill-effects of tobacco! But still, many amongst us find it extremely difficult to break free from the dangerous habit of ‘Smoking.’

Smoking is incredibly harmful, and there are no safe ways of going about it. You may replace the cigarette with a hookah or a pipe, but the damage that it will cause can be irreplaceable.

Tobacco Composition

Tobacco is a powerhouse of about 5000 toxic substances. Amongst which, the below three are majorly dangerous:

Nicotine

Tar

Carbon Monoxide

Of these, Nicotine is the one which causes the behavioral effects of tobacco, predominate being, addiction.

While smoking can lead to some ongoing complications over the years, some of its physical effects are rather immediate. Read on to educate yourself on a few of them.

Bronchitis

As you inhale the smoke, you immediately take in the toxins that can damage the lungs. Over time, this can cause chronic and irreversible lung ailments such as:

Lung cancer

Emphysema – a destruction of the air sacs in the lungs

Chronic bronchitis – permanent inflammation that harms the lining of the breathing tubes of the lungs

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) – this is the group of progressive lung diseases, with most common being, Chronic bronchitis, and Emphysema

Infertility

Smoking causes both long and short-term infertility issues in men and women

Anxiousness, anxiety, and irritability

Do you find yourself extremely restless if you miss your cigarette break? Well, the Nicotine withdrawal symptom is responsible for this uncomfortable state of mind.

Wrinkles

Regular smoking causes dry, patchy skin and premature aging. Since smoking also affects the blood flow to the skin, it eventually gets deprived of essential nutrients.

Heart Diseases

Smoking has an adverse impact on the entire cardiovascular system. Nicotine causes the blood vessels to tighten which obstructs the blood flow. Smoking increases the occurrences of blood clots, raises the blood pressure and makes the blood vessels weak. These harmful effects are not restricted to chain smokers alone, even secondhand or passive smokers are at equally high risk if they get regular exposure to cigarette smoke.

A rise in Cholesterol levels

Regular smoking lowers your HDL (good) cholesterol and increases the LDL (bad) cholesterol. Along with cholesterol, tobacco also elevates the levels of triglycerides (fats) in the blood.

Digestion related ailments

The probability of contracting Mouth, Larynx, Esophagus, and Mouth cancer increases manifold by regular consumption of tobacco. Studies also suggest that smokers are at high risk of developing Pancreatic cancer.

Sexuality and Reproductive systems

Nicotine is known to impact the blood flow to the genital areas of both – men and women. Thus, men can experience decreases sexual performance and women can experience sexual dissatisfaction due to decreased lubrication coupled with an inability to reach orgasm. Tobacco is also known to lower the levels of the sex hormones in both males and females.